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Intruder allegedly breaks into home, attacks residents. But one victim grabs his gun, opens fire, hits intruder twice — and stops threat cold.
JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images

Intruder allegedly breaks into home, attacks residents. But one victim grabs his gun, opens fire, hits intruder twice — and stops threat cold.

Residents of a home in Baxter Springs, Kansas, told police a man broke into their home after 8 p.m. Monday and assaulted them, KZRG-AM reported. The man and woman added to authorities that two juveniles were in the home at the time of the break-in, the station said.

What happened next?

The residents barricaded themselves and the children in a bedroom, police added to KZRG, and when the intruder continued toward them, the male resident fired several shots, striking the intruder twice — once in the thigh and once in the calf.

Officers from the Baxter Springs Police Department were dispatched to the residence in the 2300 block of Cleveland Avenue regarding a report of a person breaking in — and they were told one adult male had been shot, the station said. Deputies from the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office and the Quapaw Marshal’s Service also responded, KZRG said.

Authorities spotted a man leaving the area and saw that he was shot twice in the leg, the station said. He was identified as Shawn James Tallant Jr. of Baxter Springs, and officers detained him and called an ambulance for him, KZRG reported.

The residents of the home came outside voluntarily without incident, the station said, and gave their account to detectives.

What happened to the alleged intruder?

In response to statements from the residents and evidence collected at the scene, Tallant was arrested and charged with aggravated burglary, aggravated assault, and criminal damage to property, KZRG said.

Tallant was taken to a hospital, where he remained Tuesday night in good condition, the station said. Once released from the hospital, Tallant will face extradition to Cherokee County in regard to the charges against him, KZRG said.

Officers also seized a 9mm handgun from the scene, the station added.

No others had been charged as of Tuesday, KZRG reported.

Baxter Springs — population just under 4,000 — is nestled in the southeast corner of Kansas, a little over a mile north of Oklahoma and a handful of miles west of Missouri.

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